The Vietnam that the Ha Long Bay-and-Hội An tourist circuit misses entirely: three days in Hanoi for the complete guide (the Hoan Kiem, the Old Quarter, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum — full detail in 7 Days in Vietnam), and four days in the Ha Giang province for the Dong Van Karst Plateau (the UNESCO karst landscape in the northernmost province, the limestone plateau at 1,000-1,800 metres that shares its geology with the Guilin of China and its culture with the Hmong and the Tày minority communities who have farmed the karst for 2,000 years) and the Ma Pi Leng Pass (the most dramatic mountain road in Vietnam, the 20km pass above the Nho Que River at 1,500 metres, the road cut into the cliff face in the 1960s by the Communist Youth Union using hand tools) — and why the Ha Giang loop, at 350km on the motorbike or in the 4WD, gives the Vietnam that every experienced Vietnam traveller calls the country’s most specific experience.
Reading time: 10 minutes | Last updated: 2026
The Ha Giang province is 7 hours from Hanoi by road and requires either the rented motorbike (the correct format for the independent traveller with motorbike experience) or the hired 4WD with the driver (the correct format for everyone else). The landscape — the karst towers, the terraced rice fields, the Hmong villages visible from the road at every bend — gives the Vietnam that is as far from the Hội An tailors and the Hà Nội pho as Vietnam gets while remaining in the same country.
Before You Leave
The visa: Vietnam 90-day e-Visa — full detail in 7 Days in Vietnam.
The motorbike: The Ha Giang loop is most commonly done on the rented semi-automatic motorbike (the Honda Win, the Yamaha Nouvo — available for hire in Ha Giang city: VND 150,000-250,000 / £4.71-7.85 per day). The traveller without motorbike experience hires the 4WD with driver: VND 1,500,000-2,500,000 / £47.14-78.57 per day.
The permit: Foreign visitors to Ha Giang require the specific border area permit (the province borders China — the permit is issued at the Ha Giang city police office, takes 30 minutes, costs VND 20,000 / £0.63, and is required for the Dong Van and the Ma Pi Leng sections).
The Route
Hanoi (3 nights) → Ha Giang city (overnight bus or car, 6-7 hours) → Ha Giang Loop (4 nights on the loop, returning to Ha Giang city then Hanoi)
DAYS 1-3 — Hanoi
Full guide: 7 Days in Vietnam. The complete Hanoi section — the Hoan Kiem at 6:30am, the Old Quarter, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, the Train Street, the Temple of Literature.
DAY 4 — Hanoi to Ha Giang
The overnight sleeper bus or the private car:
The Ha Giang sleeper bus from the Hanoi My Dinh bus station (the 7-hour overnight journey, the bus departing 9pm and arriving 4am — the specific Vietnamese overnight bus experience of the flat berth, the blanket, the bus television showing the Vietnamese soap opera at volume throughout): VND 200,000-350,000 / £6.28-10.99.
The private car (the more comfortable option, the 6-hour daytime drive through the Tuyen Quang province giving the first views of the karst approaching from the south): VND 1,200,000-2,000,000 / £37.71-62.84 per car.
DAYS 5-7 — The Ha Giang Loop
The Ma Pi Leng Pass:
The Ma Pi Leng Pass (the 20km road section between Dong Van and Meo Vac — the road carved into the cliff face above the Nho Que River at 1,500 metres, the river visible 800 metres below at the canyon floor):
At 7am: the road before the tourist motorbike convoys begin. The Ma Pi Leng at dawn with the mist in the canyon below.
The Dong Van Old Quarter:
The Dong Van (the district capital at the northern end of the loop — the Chinese-influenced architecture (the Vietnamese-Chinese border visible 8km north), the Sunday market (the minority market — the Hmong, the Tày, the Lô Lô, and the Pu Péo communities visible at the market in the traditional dress)):
At 6am on Sunday: the market before the organised tourist visits. The specific Dong Van Sunday morning.
The Hoang Su Phi rice terraces:
The Hoang Su Phi (the rice terraces in the southern Ha Giang — the terraces rising from the valley floor to 1,800 metres, the harvest season (September-October) giving the specific yellow-gold of the ripe rice visible against the green of the higher terraces): the most photographically dramatic single Vietnam landscape outside the Ha Long Bay.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (UK-Hanoi open jaw) | £500-800 | £650-1,000 |
| Hanoi (3 nights) | £15-60 | £60-180 |
| Ha Giang sleeper bus or car | £6-63 | £38-100 |
| Ha Giang loop (4 nights, accommodation) | £20-80 | £80-200 |
| Motorbike hire or 4WD driver | £19-314 | £190-400 |
| Food (7 days) | £20-60 | £60-140 |
| Total | £580-1,377 | £1,078-2,020 |
